The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

3 A is a pretty big drain...

If its happening with ignition off then it has to be the alternator...but then did you say you'd disconnected the regulator?

Does it light a small bulb in series...just to check your multimtere isn't lieing to you...

Then I'd work through the purple circuits for courtesy light switches and the boot light and cigar lighter.

No ancient alarm that you've forgotten?

Does the ignition really swithc off...see if you get zeo volts at the fuse box on the ignition fed fuse.

Clutching at straws all round here.

Jonners

3 A is a pretty big drain...

If its happening with ignition off then it has to be the alternator...but then did you say you'd disconnected the regulator?

Does it light a small bulb in series...just to check your multimtere isn't lieing to you...

Then I'd work through the purple circuits for courtesy light switches and the boot light and cigar lighter.

No ancient alarm that you've forgotten?

Does the ignition really swithc off...see if you get zeo volts at the fuse box on the ignition fed fuse.

Clutching at straws all round here.

Jonners

spot on Jonners, the multimeter was indeed lying. I put a 20W halogen bulb in series and it didn't light up. This coupled with the lack of arcing from the battery terminal on connection made it seem less than 3A was being drawn. So I put a 330Ohm resistor in series with the MM and blow me down, still got exactly 3.18 amps. I took the risk, changed to the mA scale and she registered 40mA. A lot more believable, but possibly not enough to drain the battery overnight. last check was to put a LED in series and sure enough, lit up at a LED with 40mA going through it should. So now I'm looking to find a 40mA drain. I also checked the resistance to ground from the (disconnected positive feed), 6 kOhms, shouldn't be that low, so something ain't right. That was tested using the MM internal 9V battery so is consistent with a higher current drain at 12V, where I'd suspect insulation breakdown would be greater.

So, all day spent disconnecting circuits, exactly as you suggested Ian, bit by bit. Dash out, all connectors undone and plugged back in one at a time, still nothing. Rewired the interior light and got it working. Fuses removed, positive feeds to the fusebox isolated, Tested all the headlights, headlight relay, alternator/regulator connection whipped off, still no solution.

At 4.00pm went for another 20 minute drive. car behaving magnificently until, at the gate on returning, she goes to three cylinders, then struggles to find power. Temp is fine, no alarming overheating smells, so I figure mixture is out. before playing with mixtures again, I took out the spark plugs and found the ignition cables were in a very poor state, broken connectors (the spark plug crimps came off two as I extracted them). Replaced them with a spare set (look good, but of unkown providence) and had a short test run. After a few seconds of spluttering, she went back to a 4cyl idle and revved cleanly again. Here's hoping that problem is fixed.

Then, final job of the night, fix up the headlights which had been working, but are now no good on high beam. traced the fault to the relay, replaced wiring there, then couldn't get any dip beam on the right side, another faulty connector.

Electrical gremlins are going to appear for quite a while I think. I had windscereen wiper for a few minutes yesterday, but today there is nothing. The connector for that is a biatch to get at but I'm thinking it is the column switch. I hope it isn't raining on Wednesday. Overdrive was delayed in 4th gear today as well.

but dang she is fun !

Thomas is cooking something called Paris Brest for dessert. It is causing all sorts of mirth time to eat it

stu

Stu,

Congratulations! Finally she is back on the road.

Please do not hesitate to get your motor tuned and setup asap, as i feel that is what killed my engine again.

I'm back on with a new project this winter, you guys won't be to impressed but i will keep you entertained.

Nice work stu!

Somehow i knew you'd beat me to the mark! I still have to get the old girl running. If you ever come by portland please feel free to drop in

thanks stew and aaron.

Stew, your exploits are always good fun to read (and watch on youtube).

big test run tomorrow, 130km, I'll go for a test drive tonight, to check on the engine running.

She was very smooth though and revving cleanly out to 3000rpm, with lots of pull until yesterday.

stu

That sort of small discharge could just be the clock...or a combination of that and the reverse bias diodes in the alternator.

I wouldn't worry about it.....sounds like you have bigger fish to fry. HT leads are pretty critcal on a Sprint....you want them to be good. Spare cap and leads is very useful for fault finding...

I've also had a fair few lucas 6 volt coils failing in the last year or 2...leading to hard to trace misfires and starting reluctance.
Nissan Micra 12V coils are very good...
Jonners

thanks Jonners, in my search for the leaky current I found the ballast resistor wire, pink and white, coming from the left (near side) loom under the bonnet and it wasn't connected to anything. I don't think it ever was ! The coil is a 12V GT40R iirc and with the spark plug leads replaced, she ran fine again this afternoon, but that was only for 10 minutes or so. I still don't think I've got to the bottom of the supply to the coil, the kill switch I installed back in the 80's is in the loom in the passenger parcel shelf area, yet the 12V connection to the coil seems to come up from the main loom. Putting this one down to investigate.

I should have replaced the leads as a matter of course and have had it in mind to buy the sprintpart premade leads, but Mark talked me out of an immediate purchase as money was tight and the engine start was but a twinkle in my eye

I'll see how I go tomorrow and might grab some ignition cable in the big smoke to make up some new ones if I'm having firing problems. Otherwise save some money for the sprintpart stuff.

butterfly clips for the rear chrome trim arrived today. I'll get some pics, they seem a lot better than the original pop rivet plastic clips.

stu

this should be the wrap for the resto I hope. All other work is really putting the icing on. A few new problems have cropped up, but I'll probably start new threads for them.

the ignition leads were replaced





Last wednesday we headed to Mount gambier for the new exhaust and wheel alignment. Rainy day and despite the noise in the car on the way down, quite a good drive. About 130km.

got some snaps in the morning light:


headlight fairings still needed.


the rear chrome trim is still waiting to be fitted


found the exhaust place, great to see the car from underneath a hoist. After a bit of debate we went for a single muffler and left a bit of the exhaust note there. This was framing it all up.



the only real worry underneath was the diff pinion oil seal which was obviously throwing oil back onto the prop shaft and then it was flung onto the underside of the car. There is a slight whine from the diff, not a huge issue but something for the future.


on the hoist




exhaust system fitted up, it rattled sideways a lot and knocked on a test drive, so we went back and got some rods welded to the tongues to prevent slippage.


quite a strange system, he took three tries at bending the pipe alongside the propshaft and settled for a flange joint before the rear axle.


front support, off the back of the gearbox.


the clips for the rear trim. These "butterfly" clips slid in nicely and I could screw the fitting on.

only the curved top needed the spring clips


On Friday afternoon we drove in to the Naracoorte Historic Vehicle Club's Annual Swap meet and Show and Shine. New exhaust, new rear trim, carpets in, headlight surrounds on. Up until 1.30am the night before, but she did at least look the part, despite having no door cards.

friday night


we slept in the tent on the left, with the caravan used as the HQ for the meet. We helped run the thing and acted as "security" on friday and saturday night. Australia being always hot is a myth ! the castrol 44 gal drum was our fire for both nights.


judging time. the tr4a (burgundy/maroon) won the class, but it was never really about the winning. Not sure exactly on the criteria used for judging, as far as we can tell, a man who knew a bit about cars walked around and selected what he liked the most from each class ! The tr4a owner has a stable of tr7s as well as a stag and has just moved here, He was delighted and very confused to have won !





in some fine company. The red MG Magnette is also a local car. The green tr4a drove in, I think only a few rods came on trailers. The sprint received a lot of attention and a lot of people knew what she was. A 1976 Jag was for sale nearby and I had a long chat with the owner. He wanted $4500 for it, remarkable condition, a lot of car for that money, but that is all they fetch.


great to see an old cooper. Sounded great too.


rover v8 and several jags were on display.


some rods


some vintage

The swap meet itself was the biggest for several years, we booked out several hundred sites and while there were few triumph parts for sale, it turned out to be a beautiful weekend.

Unfortunately, some problems have arisen driving it there and back. With another 100km under her belt, for a total of around 400km, she has gone through 3 litres of oil. That was a little unexpected. The remaining oil is quite dark already. There are no significant oil leaks and she isn't blowing smoke (Tuning her in the shed I'd notice !), so I'm wondering where it has gone exactly. Using a SAE30W monograde oil to run the engine in and the oil warning light started coming on this morning driving back. I've topped up (refilled more like) with 20W50 but need to check where it is all going ! She also ran very slightly warmer coming back, 2mm below half way instead of 4mm on the gauge.

The other problem was knocking in the rear end. Initially I blamed the new exhaust, but investigating more closely and she has developed a knock in the shock mounts or actual dampers. Running 2nd hand Koni D, the right upper bush was allowing up and down movement so I tightened it up, cured it for a while, but now it is really noticeable. I think I might need a new pair of shocks.

apart from some other fiddly things (throttle sticking on as pedal not coming up properly), clutch pedal sitting too high, some fine tuning, I'm going to draw a line here and go to the dolomite related forums for specific questions.

Thanks again for all your help, looking forward to finishing the next 600km so I can rev the engine out a bit more. I'm collecting some vids for youtube, so I'll provide links as I post them up.

stu

great to see it on the road. Did you fit the c/locking & e/windows?

I'm still thinking about the cl and pw Roy. I might go with the cl but the power window dream is fading. Easy enough to do, I've got the looms and grommets, but I've got a hankering to keep her semi-original. I'm looking towards my sons car for the electronic gadgetry. Not entirely sure. Seems a shame to have followed your door cut out plans and then stay with original locks ! I did get a moment of satisfaction locking her up at the swap meet, using the key.

oh, and somewhere along the way, the battery stopped discharging and she's holding 12V.

I'm thinking a compression test is in order too. Solve the mystery of the missing oil.

resized the pics above, ugly page formatting for me !

stu

Have you been following the procedure for retorquing the head? Also with your engine being clean there will be a bit of oil consumption until it beds in. Just wait until you've run the engine in. It should be fine after your next oil change. If not then there's something seriously wrong. It's a pity you can't use it daily (I know, historic rego doesn't allow you to) to give the car a good shakedown.

Great work Stu, It must be a great feeling to finally get there, it really looks the part. Great effort.

Your car is looking fantastic Stu. I am a little sad that you have come to the end of the restoration as I have enjoyed reading your posts!! I hope that you soon get past the teething problems and have fun with you Sprint.

Stu, nice one mate. Congrats on getting her running and on the road. I am sure the fiddly bits will not be too taxing for you.

All the best.

Ken

thanks guys, this forum is the schizzle.


stu